Soccer Game Preview: Chapel Hill vs. Villa Rica

A feisty cat fight will be fought as Chapel Hill duke it out with Villa Rica at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Chapel Hill is likely headed into the match with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Pebblebrook on Tuesday. Chapel Hill came up short against Pebblebrook, falling 4-1. Having soared to a lofty five goals in the game before, the Panthers couldn't push the score so high this time.

Meanwhile, Villa Rica had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.3 goals) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They came within a single goal of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against the Tigers. While the Wildcats didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-9), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

They hit Douglas County with a four-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Alexander Melendez (2), Cooper Easterwood, Ezra Miahnahri, and Kenneth Thompson III.

Villa Rica's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-2. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 21 goals over those three contests. As for Chapel Hill, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Chapel Hill was able to grind out a solid victory over Villa Rica in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Chapel Hill since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.